The fashionable trailblazer for cell ruckmen admits Walyalup’s* (Fremantle’s) red-hot mixture of Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson current a stern check for the understaffed reigning premiers.
Without injured premiership ruckman Rhys Stanley, athletic tall Mark Blicavs and ruck deputy Jon Ceglar are left to shoulder the load in opposition to the Dockers pair who steered a midfield dominance of their street win over Sydney final week.
Doing the majority of the faucet work, Darcy mixed with Jackson for 55 hit-outs and the Dockers blitzed the clearance battle — notably from the centre.
Speaking to The West Australian as nearly all of Geelong’s touring occasion touched down in Perth precisely 24 hours earlier than Saturday’s Optus Stadium conflict, Blicavs stated the rising duo commanded respect.
“They’ve been really good. They’re always good,” Blicavs stated.
“Darcy is a Geelong boy, so (he’s got) a few mates here or there. We’ve played against them both in previous years but we’ll prepare like we normally do, give them the respect they deserve and try and see where our strengths lie.”
In the league’s most well-known hybrid function, Blicavs has been named on-ball, with Ceglar the beginning ruck.
Without Stanley Blicavs has attended at the very least 80 per cent of centre bounces prior to now three video games as a dual-use on-baller.
It’s a mannequin just like the one Fremantle need Luke Jackson to turn into, with the 21-year-old dubbed a ‘unicorn’ used via the midfield and up ahead — the place he kicked three targets final week.
But Blicavs wouldn’t be drawn into evaluating himself with the 2m Dockers beanpole, regardless of their remarkably comparable attributes.
He was, nevertheless, effusive in his reward of former Walyalup captain Nat Fyfe, who he described as a “legend of the game”.
For the primary time in a full sport since spherical one, Darcy and Jackson may have Fyfe as a midfield choice as the twin Brownlow medallist makes his largest step again into the sport amid an ongoing plantar fasciitis damage.
“He’s a legend of the game, we always love playing when he’s playing,” Blicavs stated.
The Cats landed in Perth per week after their first loss in six video games and with a mounting damage record that has claimed seven of its possible starters, together with celebrity captain Patrick Dangerfield, essential defender Sam de Koning and veteran West Australian Mitch Duncan.
While they regain All-Australian small ahead Tyson Stengle from a damaged arm, his small ahead operating mate Brad Close from suspension and Jack Henry for his first sport of the 12 months, the Cats have misplaced Duncan, final week’s debutant Jhye Clark and Ollie Henry via damage.
An unflappable Blicavs wasn’t fearful by the loss to Richmond, adamant the Cats nonetheless haven’t hit their ceiling.
“We’ve had another great week on the track and we sort of look at it like we’re trying to improve each week,” he stated
“We had a couple of young boys play some really important roles for us which was great, so again we’ll do the same.
“We’ll have some good young players go through and it will be a good game to be a part of.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
